


the scientist

by butmomilovepeter



Series: sing us a song, you're the spider-man [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, references to Coldplay, we stan piano playing peter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 11:09:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16533446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butmomilovepeter/pseuds/butmomilovepeter
Summary: peter gives the avengers a taste of his talent after the effects of the snap are reversed





	the scientist

He’s running. He legs feel like jelly and his heart hammers loudly in his ears, but that doesn’t stop him. Parts of him weren’t even fully developed; he could feel his lungs regrouping inside of him. But he can’t  _ stop.  _

Tony’s calling his name. He’s running too. There are people everywhere and he can hear all their hearts starting to beat again, and sure, it’s loud and makes him quiver, but he’s so  _ close  _ to reaching one of the only things he thought about while  _ stuck  _ in an orange haze of pain for god knows how long that he somehow manages to block out all sound for a moment.

And in that moment, he finds himself in the arms of his hero.

Their knees hit the ground fast, but the pain doesn’t matter. He’s crying. He doesn’t need to hear it. All he wants to hear is someone else’s voice. 

“You are never, ever, _ ever  _ allowed to die again, you hear me?” Tony cups his face sternly with both hands, and while he’s words are sharp, there’s relief and grief mixed into them. He doesn’t respond, instead throws himself into his mentor’s arms. Tony doesn’t stop him. Peter can hear him muttering things to him, but he knows if he opens his mouth, all that would come out were sobs.  

“Talk to me, Pete. You’re scaring me.”  Tony’s voice wavers. Peter gives himself a moment to regroup (his organs were still forming) and calm down before he chokes out the sob stuck in his throat. 

“Tony,  _ Tony,  _ I’m  _ so sorry.”  _ And he means it too. Sorry for doing the one thing Tony always told him not to do: die. Sorry because he knows how Tony works. He probably blamed himself the whole time. That wasn’t fair.

Tony shakes his head vigorously as Peter rambles apologies and excuses, all while pushing the greasing curls off of his forehead. God, he  _ missed  _ that feeling. 

“ _ Please  _ don’t apologize, Peter. You didn’t do this!” Tony chuckles sadly as he speaks, but Peter can see the guilt in his eyes. He takes a shaky breath and clings to Tony’s shirt with vigor he didn’t know he had in him anymore. 

“Neither did you.” He states, making sure his words get across the way he means them. Tony stops fidgeting for a second and looks Peter in the eyes before smiling. 

“I missed you, kid.” Tony says softly. Peter smiles as the tears leak out of him. 

“Me too, Mr.Stark.” His voice is muffled in Tony’s shoulder. 

“Time to go home, Parker.” Tony says this, but he doesn’t move right away. Peter’s lets himself be held. 

Yeah. He’s home. 

 

~

“It’s too quiet. Where’s the music?” Sam Wilson speaks up. Peter only just met him for real an hour ago, but he could argue he’s one of the coolest people he’s ever known. People murmur in agreement over his statement, and Peter wonders that too, until Tony’s eyes meet him. 

Oh boy.

“Petey here knows how to plan the piano!” Tony exclaimed with a dopey grin. Peter felt his face turn red as the entirety of the Avengers stared at him. 

“I, uh, I’m...no?” He stuttered, trying desperately to find a way out of this situation before Tony made it over to him. He feels himself tense as his mentor grips his shoulders. 

“Really? You any good?” It’s Bucky -- _ holy shit it’s the Winter Soldier! Or is it something else now?--  _ Barnes who says this to him. Peter smiles an embarrassed smile at him. 

“N-No—I’m not—” 

“Oh yes he is! He’s a musical genius.” Tony interrupts him. Peter gives his best  _ if people weren’t all looking at us you would be fucking dead right now  _ face, but the shit-eating grin on Tony’s face suggests that it’s not working very well. 

“Well, play something! Quill over here will start playing 70s dad music if you don’t.” Tony pats him on the back in a motion for him to stand up, and he swallows a yelp as he’s rushed to his feet. He was necessarily  _ opposed  _ to that idea. I mean,  _ Hooked On A Feeling  _ was the bop of the century. 

But he caved, because when was he ever going to get this chance ever again?

“Fine!” He shouts over the crowd. They all look at him, and he suddenly wishes he had been quieter. “What...do you want to hear?” 

“Just play what you know, kid.” Tony supplies as he lead him to the piano. Peter sighs. 

“I learned a Coldplay song a few...months back. It’s a sad song, though.” Peter awkwardly placed his hands on the keys as he waited for a response. 

“I like a nice ballad, every now and then. Coldplay is one of my favorites!” Thor-- _ I think my heart just dropped-- _ smiles at him. Peter inhales and nods. If Thor tells you to do it, you do it. 

He starts playing, and it’s like that first time with Tony all over again. 

 

_ “Come up to meet you _

_ Tell you I'm sorry _

_ You don't know how lovely you are _

_ I had to find you _

_ Tell you I need you _

_ Tell you I set you apart.” _

 

He doesn’t hate the sound of his singing voice anymore. If anything, he thinks he’s pretty good. He tries his best to ignore the gang staring at him, because he doesn’t want to stop. He missed this. He missed the domestic little moments.

 

_ Tell me your secrets _

_  
And ask me your questions _

_  
Oh let's go back to the start _

_  
Running in circles, coming up tails _

_  
Heads on a science apart. _

 

 

He can see Tony cry out of the corner of his eye. Maybe he’s crying too. Hell, maybe they’re all crying. 

 

_ “Nobody said it was easy _

_ It's such a shame for us to part _

_ Nobody said it was easy _

_ No one ever said it would be this hard _

_ Oh take me back to the start.”  _

 

He picks up the energy a bit, and he can feel the others around him perk up. He smiles. But it drops as soon as he realizes how fitting the song is for their situation. 

He continues through until the end, and when he stops, all his quiet. 

Then comes the applause. 

He’s not sure how to react; half denying it and half being thankful.

But, with his enhanced hearing, he’s able to make out:

“You’ve got a really good kid there, Tony.” Steve Rogers.  _ Captain America.  _

“Yeah. Yeah, I really do.”

It’s good to be home. 


End file.
